Tax Games. The Race to the Bottom.

An analysis of the EU and Norway shows 12 governments have either just cut their corporate tax rate, or are planning to do so in the near future. The report also includes an in-depth analysis of 17 EU countries and Norway revealing that half the countries have an alarming number of harmful tax practices, which can be used by multinational corporations to avoid taxation. For more information, please visit: www.stoptaxdodging.eu

STOP Tax Dodging – campaigning across Europe

From Ireland to Italy and from Slovenia to Spain we have the same message: ‘STOP Tax Dodging’, and for good reason. When companies and wealthy individuals don’t pay their fair share of tax, it hurts us all. The hardest impacts are felt in the poorest countries, but all across the world, ordinary citizens have to deal with increasing inequality, painful austerity measures and loss of public services.
Follow our campaign on Twitter using: #StopTaxDodging

One year after the “Luxembourg Leaks” scandal revealed the shocking scale of corporate tax dodging, Fifty Shades of Tax Dodging finds that most EU countries continue to uphold secretive tax systems that are riddled with loopholes, and a wide menu of ways for companies and individuals to hide money.

The report scrutinises the role of the EU in the global tax crisis and examines whether 15 EU countries have taken the critical steps needed to help end tax dodging. It also explores EU countries' policies towards developing countries.

Take Action: Share our traffic lights and call on European governments to stop corporate tax dodgingA large number of the scandals that emerged over the past year have strong links to the EU and its Member States. Many eyes have therefore turned to the EU leaders, who claim that the problem is being solved and the public need not worry. But what is really going on? What is the role of the EU in the unjust global tax system, and are EU leaders really solving the problem? Share our country comparison table, which shows how close European countries are to giving the green light to corporate transparency.

Reports to read:

Hidden Profits: The EU's role in supporting an unjust global tax system 2014

Read the report
Going Offshore: How development finance institutions support companies using the world’s most secretive financial centres
Read the report
Giving with one hand and taking with the other - Europe's role in tax-related capital flight from developing countries
Read the report

Campaign films to watch and share:

Blowing the whistle on corporate secrecyShare our film and join our call for corporate transparency.

Where has all the money gone?

Want to know how tax dodging happens?

Stop the business masquerade!

Campaign film from 2014 calling for the EU to shell-companies and secret company ownership, in order to prevent tax evasion and money laundering.

The production of these materials has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of these materials are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

“It is a contradiction to support increased development assistance, yet turn a blind eye to actions by multinationals and others that undermine the tax base of a developing country” Trevor Manuel, South African Finance Minister, 2008

According to experts’ estimates, cross border illicit financial flows from developing countries amount to US $1.3 trillion each year. More than half of these illicit flows are related to trade mispricing. As a result of multinational companies' tax dodging, poor countries lose massive financial resources which according to Eurodad member Christian Aid, total approximately US $160 billion per year.

Curbing cross border illicit capital flight and tax havens is crucial for eradicating unethical financial behaviour, and is a means to boost domestic resource mobilisation as a predictable source of development finance. Eurodad works to improve tax cooperation and financial transparency to prevent cross border tax avoidance and evasion by multinational companies (and individuals).

Over recent years, G20 leaders have expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and cooperation from secrecy jurisdictions and the need to regulate them. In June 2010, EU Heads of State and Government went beyond international agreements and committed to “pushing for a more development-friendly international framework”. However, too little is being done to implement these and other commitments.

In order to address tax evasion and harmful tax practices, and to increase cooperation and transparency, a global binding framework to tackle these issues is needed. Working together with members and other allies, Eurodad advocates for greater transparency and enhanced coordination of taxation systems worldwide. Eurodad also works to ensure that international institutions and treaties do not constrain developing countries’ policy space on this area.

Eurodad believes that for developing countries and their people, a key way to raise funds is through national taxes. Domestic resource mobilisation- raising money from the people for the people- is a reliable source of finance and a preferable alternative to foreign aid, which Eurodad research has consistently shown to be ineffective in many cases and leaves developing countries dependent on donor countries. However, policies on domestic tax, which should ultimately be decided upon nationally, are often heavily influenced by key international players: tax-related conditions and technical advice attached to loans and grants from International Financial Institutions, as well as bilateral tax agreements and investment treaties, all too often undermine the policy space of developing countries.Such advice and conditions all too often involve lowering domestic tax levels, in a bid to attract foreign investment. This often leads to a country joining the race to the bottom on national tax policies. Low taxes mean lower public funds and a lower quality of public services.

Eurodad works in coordination with Southern CSOs including Latindadd, Afrodad, Jubilee South, and Tax Justice Network Africa and Latin America, to expose the role of private investment in developing countries and tax-related conditions in order to open up the policy space of developing countries